ALL HAIL THE QUEEN
by LePetitPappillon
Summary: But just as Jasper had promised, Morganite's painting was set up in her home, hanging upon the wall. It waited for her everyday to break her heart with all of its almost straight lines and vibrant colors. Hiding among all the triangles and squares was a heart-shaped pink gem in the bottom right hand corner and a familiar fiery orange stone in the upper right.
1. Chapter 1

Jasper had been assigned to train Morganite in one-on-one combat. The almost princess barely came up to her shoulder, and something about her candy pink hair and enormous eyes made the instructor experience emotions that didn't have names.

"Stop."

It was perhaps the eighth time that Jasper had to adjust her stance. With an index finger, she moved Morganite's arm upwards and bent it at an angle. "Again. Then we'll spar."

"What?"

"_We're going to spar._ Do it again."

With her thin arms, Morganite threw a few punches that were decent enough, but wouldn't really hurt anyone. There wasn't nearly enough force. Glancing at the heart-shaped gem present on her chest, the dial that controlled Jasper's irrational hatred was cranked a little further to the right by one or two notches.

"I don't think I'm ready to spar with you."

"It doesn't matter if you're ready. If you ever get into a real fight, your opponent is never going to ask you if you're prepared to take them on. It just happens. Again."

Punch. Punch. "But Jasper, you're so much bigger than I am."

"You think you'll never have to fight someone bigger than you? Again."

Punch. Punch. Morganite was quivering. Those spindly, noble arms shook like paper inside a breeze and there was a crooked smile forming on the larger gem's face.

"Once more."

Punch. Punch.

"Okay. Go stand over there."

Morganite made a good ten feet between them and stood in one place, her heavy, intelligent brows knitting themselves together while her lips coiled inward. She was trying not to shake; not to pass out from fear. But even in that, there was a sort of determination in her ink-stained, multicolored pupils.

She took up the stance she was just in and let out a breath.

Jasper's shadow reached over and lapped at her feet.

"I'm not going easy on you. If you ask me, your entire life is too easy."

"I know you won't." Her quaking got worse, now that her arms were extended. If anything, it was at least more apparent. "Alright. I think I'm ready."

Kid, you'll never be ready.

"Good." Jasper charged at her, and as Morganite attempted to block, one of those powerful legs sent her flying into the grass. "_You thought too much about it! What's even the point of practicing? Get up!_"

She did.

"You left yourself wide open. Let's try it again."

Her legs wobbled like drunk gelatin. The internal earthquake of her anxiety moved from six to seven. Yet, Morganite took up the same stance, and this time, when Jasper came at her, she instinctively started to run away. The larger of the two grabbed a handful of her hair and threw her back on the ground.

"_You can't be serious! Did I just see you run?!_"

"Sorry, sorry!" Morganite could hardly get up, but she did anyway. "I was frightened. Let's try it again."

"Tch."

So they did. Again and again and again. But no matter what, the smaller of the pair kept getting back on her unsteady feet only to be kicked or punched or head-butted yet again into gravity's clutches. Morganite had collected various bruises and had tears in her eyes, but had eventually stopped shaking.

During one exchange, some of her fingers brushed past Jasper's gem.

And with the new information those few short milliseconds provided her, she stood back up and looked her aggressor in the eyes.

"Why do you resent me so?"

There was a stillness that made everything feel frozen. Jasper did not answer, and she didn't change her expression. The two of them were caught between two intense stares. Somehow, Morganite was winning. Her resolve was unwavering, even though she had started to cry.

"I'm sorry I'm frustrating you, and I'm sorry you don't feel this is worth your time. If it were up to me, I would be in my room, reading or producing artwork. But I'm still here, trying my best. I apologize for not being good at this, but do you have to hate me too?"

Finally, Morganite let her out from underneath her stare.

"I don't hate _you_, Jasper. Even though I probably should."

She took two steps forward and fell back into the grass, finally crossing the threshold of what her body could take.

Jasper held out her tangerine hand. "Sorry. Let's call it a day."

It required a second for Morganite to trust her. But eventually, she allowed her instructor to pull her to her feet. After a few deep breaths, they warped back to the palace together.


	2. Chapter 2

That morning, Morganite had found another color forming inside her irises. There were already red, green, and blue specs. Now a vibrant orange came and ate up some of the remaining black space.

Yellow Diamond would be ecstatic.

No matter how many times she blinked, her eyes remained the same. In fact, the orange seemed to get more obnoxious each time her lashes pressed together and flew apart. While she would have loved to stay and stare at herself and knit her brows together, Morganite had work to do.

So she went to her office and kept busy.

Between the documents and reports about their progress on other planets, those multicolored eyes darted up to catch her collection of books and paintings. Much of it came from worlds about to be conquered or that were conquered already, and much of it Morganite could comprehend even if the language was different. Some of them she had even translated; the severely bent _Madame Bovary_ rested at the corner of her desk at that very moment.

Whenever someone went out on a mission, Morganite asked for souvenirs. The end result was an office full of pretty distractions that may have looked like a garbage pile to someone else.

The day passed quietly until there was a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

It was Jasper who stuck her face in and eventually her entire body, bringing in the scent of the outdoors and a see-through plastic bag. It was full of bizarre treasures that caused Morganite to glow an intense pink.

"Jasper, it's been forever!" She rose up from her desk and came to greet her guest. "How are you?"

"Fine. I just got back from a mission. Peridot asked me to deliver this to you."

"Wonderful! Thank you so much." Their gazes met up for a second. "Can you stay? I bet you've gone on a fantastic adventure you could tell me about."

Morganite's expensive, important perfume clashed with Jasper's scent now that they were standing so close together. The bag exchanged ownership and their fingers brushed.

A feeling ran through Morganite—one she wasn't at all familiar with.

But she ignored it for the time being.

"I can stay for a while."

"Good. Sit across from me."

So the two took their places, and while Jasper recounted her story of conquest and violence, Morganite removed each item from the bag and placed them on her desk. There were two books. The first was entitled _Animals_ and was a colorful album of photographs that labeled and explained all manners of Earth creatures. The next was a thick book with fewer pictures called _Unfamiliar Familiar_. On the front page Peridot left a note saying that it was a popular novel many people on Earth read.

The last thing had been a glass bottle full of black, bubbly liquid. 'This is a beverage many people drink. Consume at your own risk.'

"Wow…"

"Are you even listening?"

"Of course." She was groping around the inside of the bag. "You were telling me about how you cracked the skull of the village leader you encountered. Go on."

"That was pretty much it." A pause.

The smaller of the two put the sack into one of her drawers and looked back at Jasper.

"Your eyes grew another color."

"I just noticed this morning myself." Morganite's attention skidded past the surface of her desk and the piles of documents that made up miniature castles. "I don't know what it means yet. I feel like I gained a little more strength, but whether or not I gained another power, I don't know."

But already, the champagne pink gem could read Jasper's aura: she was perplexed.

"You don't sound that happy about it."

"I'm not." Morganite crossed her light pink fingers. "Yellow Diamond tells me that when all the slots in my eyes fill with different colors, I'll be able to read memories and detect lies and control minds just by looking at someone. Except hers of course. That's what I was made to do. But these are powers I don't want."

"That's something I'll never get about you. I'm always trying to become stronger."

"But you're already so strong! Besides, I don't want to know what everyone else is thinking. I don't want to take away anyone's free will. It is, however, inevitable. When it comes to that, my two options will be to do as Yellow Diamond says or to be broken to pieces. I honestly wish I were normal. Even being a tiny gem with little power would be better."

"I couldn't disagree more, but you've always been too sensitive. You should be thrilled."

Morganite didn't say anything. With her right hand, she rotated the cola bottle around a few times. "I missed you, Jasper. Ever since our lessons ended, I never get to see you anymore."

"That was thousands of years ago."

"It was, wasn't it? Sometimes it feels like it happened recently."

"I bet I could still beat you."

Morganite grinned. "I bet you could."

"We should spar sometime." Jasper showed all of her teeth in a wide smile that took up half of her face.

"Sure, but you better not go easy on me. Let me know when you're free. I'll be practicing until then."

"You're on, and you better practice—for your own good." She was beaming. And because Jasper was beaming, Morgan beamed back.

"Why don't we try some of this drink Peridot gave me?"

"I don't want any of that."

"Just a sip."

"It looks disgusting."

"Jasper, _come on_." With some difficulty, her palm served as a bottle opener and placed the red and white cap on the desk. The drink fizzed up with popping foam and then settled back down, though it still hissed quietly.

"Eugh. Is it alive? How barbaric."

"No, I don't think so." Morganite took the opening and placed it against her lips, taking in some and then placing it next to the cap. It caused a burn in her throat with a sweet, smooth flavor that made a series of small explosions as it slipped into the rest of her body.

_Aaaaahhh. _

"That was crazy!" She took another drink. "You have to try some."

Morganite held out the drink, but her counterpart only made a face.

The smaller of the two did not distend her arm.

"Alright, fine." Her enormous hand engulfed Morganite's while taking the drink. And in a flash, words in Jasper's voice entered her mind, accompanied by an image.

_The next time we spar, I'm going to get her for this. _

In a field, Morganite saw herself unconscious in the dirt, with Jasper standing above her, glittering victoriously.

_Why won't she let go?_

"What? I said I would drink some. Now you won't let me have it?"

"Oh, sorry. Go ahead."

She had a little, and no sooner spit it up in a mist that stuck to every part of Morganite's office, with each one of her white hairs standing on end.

"_Jasper,_ _that's_ _gross!_"

"_I told you I didn't want any! What is this anyway?! Here!_" The bottle was slammed back onto the desk, yet miraculously didn't break. However, all her papers and books from Earth jumped up in the surprise and landed relatively in the same place. Jasper stood. "I'm out of here." Then she slid a hand past her mouth in distaste. "_Don't you make me try anything ever again._"

Morganite stifled a laugh.

"Don't giggle! You'll be lucky if ever you see me again."

"How will we spar if we never meet one another after this?"

But she was already walking away.

"Well, thank you for coming to visit. It was nice catching up with you!"

The larger woman turned back and scowled before disappearing behind the automatic door. The sound of her heavy feet disappeared into the hallway and Morganite slowly stopped laughing.

Her vision captured her right hand, which hadn't forgotten Jasper's touch. The memory stuck like a syrupy film against her knuckles, and her heart-shaped gem nearly cracked in half.

"So that's what it is."

She took another sip and placed the bottle in the drawer with the rest of her collection.

Morganite sighed.

Then, seeing the time, she organized her papers (which were laced with Jasper's spit) and went back to her room. Maybe Peridot's books could distract her until tomorrow, where there would hopefully be more distractions that would come in clusters.


	3. Chapter 3

At that point, they had been fighting for an hour and were now sitting, looking up at the sky. Morganite had her rapiers drawn, even though they had momentarily stopped, and Jasper was just thinking, hardly out of breath.

The smaller one was still catching hers.

They glanced to one another.

"You've gotten a lot better since that green color came into your eyes."

"Oh, thanks. Yellow Diamond says I'm going to have more colors one day. After this one came in, I found I was able to summon my weapons."

Silence.

"She asked me to fuse with you."

If Morganite had been drinking something she would have spit it out. "I've never fused with anyone before."

"I know. It's something she wants you to learn to do."

"But how do you feel about that, Jasper? Do you want to fuse?"

"I don't want to fuse with anyone, but I'll do it because she asked me to."

Chubby pink lips folded inward. "You can choose what kind of dance we do. I'm only good at the waltz, but I'll try out whatever you want, if that would be easier."

"No, that's fine." Jasper got up. "Are you ready?"

"Um—okay." Morganite got up too. "Are we going to be huge?"

"Probably." The largest of the pair held out her hand for the smaller, and she accepted it. "I'll lead."

"That's fine with me." Morganite bowed low, bending her knees and Jasper did the same, but leaned over slightly. Then they came closer together, each with an arm extended, a small pink hand on Jasper's shoulder and an enormous tangerine hand on Morganite's waist.

They hadn't been this close before.

Those black and green eyes were having trouble seeing straight.

The two made a few steps together before Jasper turned her around and lifted her up, and when they joined hands again everything faded into a bright white light. The area where Jasper ended and Morganite began was nonexistent and they became one enormous entity, with four arms and four black and yellow eyes.

Agate stood up. And she towered over everything.

"This is incredible…"

Then she took one step forward and it happened.

Morganite saw Jasper standing in the center of a quiet battlefield, with weapons strewn everywhere and broken gems composing the dirt beneath her enormous, and yet, tiny feet. The Warrior Queen was screaming; her wild white hair clasped inside her hands because she was the last one left. The only sound was that of her voice, and past that was a vast nothing. The wind blew and Jasper wept.

The vision only lasted a few split seconds. Then Jasper and Morganite separated, with the mentor moving away from her student.

"Wait! What happened?!" Like a fool, Morganite followed.

"_Who said you could read my memories?!_" She sent her first into the crystalline bark of a tree and nearly felled the entire forest.

"Was that not supposed to happen?"

"_Don't follow me!_"

"Jasper, please tell me what I did wrong!"

"_I told you not to follow me!_"

"Jasper!" But Morganite continued, and five footsteps later, Jasper had her by the arm.

"_Are you stupid?!_" She was yelling right into her counterpart's face. "_You want to know what you did wrong?!_" The little, pink, heart-shaped gem's feet hovered about a foot above ground, and her arm from the wrist down was turning pressure white.

"_Jasper—_"

"I didn't give you permission to go digging through my mind! Just because we're fused together doesn't mean you can just—"

Morganite was dropped directly onto her knees. Her teacher was already walking away. Yet, she came to her feet again, clutching her arm. "_I didn't do it on purpose! It just happened! And you want to know something else?! You suck, Jasper! I want a different instructor!_"

But she just continued on, disappearing amongst the trees they had only just seen the tops of.

Morganite picked up a stone to throw, but dropped it when she realized who she was and who she wasn't. Then she headed back where they had come from and sat in the clearing, on fire with rage that didn't feel like her own.


	4. Chapter 4

In exchange for her memory, Jasper received one of Morganite's. It arrived after they came unglued and hit her like a bullet in the back of the head.

"_What a disappointment." _

_One of Yellow Diamond's servants had found Morganite just after she had emerged, and she had been electrocuted and forced back into her gem. Now she was cradled inside two sparkling, terrible yellow palms and held beneath a rain of scrutiny. _

"_It's bad enough that she's not even the right color, but she's heart-shaped too." _

"_My lady, shall I smash her?" _

"_No. I'll keep her around for something. We'll see what happens. Give her a room in this palace, and bring her to me when she's conscious again." _

"_Of course, my lady." _

The first recollection ended and another, tiny one began, just like the aftershock of an earthquake. Jasper saw her own eyes with an incredible bashfulness and blush.

_I bet we're going to be beautiful. _

And they were dancing together and Morganite was so nervous and so excited.

The mentor made her way back to the student, sighing as she sat next to her; the student refused to move her gaze. She simply continued to sketch the trees and flowers and sky on the half-blank paper she had brought with her.

She switched colored pencils and the only sound between them was the vibrant lead on the accepting page.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"No. I want to be left alone."

Pause. Audible ellipses. The smaller pink one threw her utensils down and stood up.

"Are _you_ stupid?! What part of 'I want to be left alone' makes you think you can go on sitting next to me as if I said nothing?! _No one listens to a word I say!_ I—" She was trying desperately not to cry. "Go make someone else your punching bag—" Gasp. "_I never want to look at you again! So get lost!_"

It was at that point that Jasper pulled her into an embrace, and Morganite sank into all her muscles with her chin resting on her instructor's shoulder. Her watery eyes were wide open in shock, but closed abruptly when the sobs came. Then she got fist-fulls of Jasper's rough white hair.

"Let me make you stronger. So you can force them to listen."

Their cheeks were touching.

"Let me show you how to frighten them into obedience. Sometimes it's the only way to get anyone to do what you want. But if you really want a different instructor, I'll go."

"Don't go." They pulled apart and Morganite ended up sitting on Jasper's lap.

An enormous orange thumb wiped away the rest of her tears with the assistance of a light pink hand. "I'm sorry I read your memories." Sniff. "I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't, kid."

"I'll try my best not to do it again, if we fuse in the future, I guess." Sniff. They were looking at one another.

"Alright then. Enough already." Jasper lifted her up underneath the arms and set her back up. "All of these emotions are making me feel funny. How about we try fusing again and we can call it a day?"

"You don't want to."

"I don't _need_ to. I'm strong enough by myself. But if you want, let's form Agate."

"You know her name too."

"Of course I do. Don't be an idiot." The largest of the pair held out her hand for the smaller. "We're going to have to work on your dancing in the future, though. Knowing only one routine is unacceptable."

"Okay." Morganite took it.

And they started to dance. This time, the two melded together when Jasper lifted Morganite into the air, becoming a four armed, four-eyed pink goddess with red markings and long white hair. A bright orange crown came onto her head that had not had the chance to form the first time, along with a long, majestic crimson cape.

Agate flexed her muscles while contemplating the importance of art and literature in modern society. Then she sparkled.

"I want to see what we look like…I think there's a lake over there…"

Agate made quakes as she came to that pool and hovered over it, drinking up the sight of her face.

"Oh my gosh. Look at us!" Her top pair of hands touched her cheeks, and those long-lashed yellow and black eyes blinked in rapid succession. "We have your nose—and this crown—and look at our hair! _It's so long!_" Gasp. "I had a feeling we would look good, but not _this_ good. _This is so cool._" Her top pair of arms wrapped around herself in a hug. "We get to stay like this for at least a while, right? You don't mind, do you? Well, since you're _so_ excited, we can."

She lifted her arms above her head to check their definition. "Not bad. Let's go smash something…Okay!"

So Agate ran away to rip some trees out like weeds and blow mountains into gravel.


	5. Chapter 5

Morganite was taking a break from her archiving and had color stretching out onto a canvas. Her brush left splotches that hadn't formed anything just yet, but there were already plenty of hues that made several triangles.

A knock came on her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Peridot, Madame."

"Come in!"

So she did, and with a respectful bow, Peridot greeted Morganite.

"I really must thank you for the gifts you brought me. I enjoyed whatever fluid that was, and that book about the Earth creatures was very informative. I've also read a bit from the other one—Forgive me; I forgot the title, and that too, was entertaining. But I suppose you're not here to discuss those things, judging by the look on your face."

"No, Madame. I have to report something."

"I'll stop painting then. Sit across from me, and let's hear it."

Peridot's eyes were transfixed on the piles of documents inhabiting her superior's desk. "With all due respect, I can upgrade your office so you needn't deal with all these papers."

"You know, you make the same suggestion every time you come in here. I hope you don't mean to indicate that I'm doing a lousy job."

"No, not at all, My Lady."

"I prefer _Madame_, Peridot."

"Excuse me, Madame." She bowed her head. "I simply want to assist in making your job easier, if I can be of such service."

"I appreciate your offer but I rather like my office the way it is. However, if I decide to renovate, I'll keep you in mind. Now what do you have to report? Wait." Morganite's lips popped. "Give me your hand."

"_My hand_, Madame?"

"Yes, your hand."

Peridot presented her disconnected fingers and Morganite took them. There weren't exactly words yet, only a knot of vague confusion. _What's going on? Wait. This must have something to do with her powers—there's a spot of orange in her eyes now. Maybe she's going to verify that I'm telling the truth._

"Go ahead and tell me what you have to say."

"Yes, of course." She cleared her throat and broke into something of a cold sweat. _Does she have to stare right into my eyes?_ "My work on Earth is being interrupted by a group of gems and something that calls itself the _Steven_." Peridot's narration was accompanied by images she had kept in her memory, and frustration. "I would like to ask for an escort the next time I go to Earth, so I can stop their interference."

"I thought there weren't any gems on Earth. Interesting."

"Yes, the records indicate that the planet was devoid of any gem life forms but that is not the case, it seems."

"I see." Morganite retracted her hand and crossed her fingers. "I think I'll have Jasper go with you."

She didn't need to read Peridot's mind to understand her reaction. "Jasper, Madame?"

"Yes. Jasper." Morganite had a tangerine shooting star cross her eyes. "Do you have a problem with that? Perhaps if you could do your job correctly the first time, I wouldn't need to ask anyone to accompany you at all. Though, if it's going to be an issue, I can certainly find someone else."

"If you wouldn't mind—"

"Oh, my apologies. I should have explained myself a little more clearly. I meant that I could replace you."

The yellow-green gem gulped and shrunk in her seat. "It won't be an issue at all. Thank you for graciously allowing me an escort."

"Of course. And perhaps, if you have the time, you could pick me up another bottle of that black liquid. I really did enjoy it. Oh, I still have some if you'd like to try it."

"No thank you, Madame. I'll happily get you more if I have the chance."

"Wonderful. Thank you, Peridot. I always love the souvenirs you pick out for me. Here, I wrote you a little note." She opened her top drawer and pulled out a pink envelope with the opposite's name on it.

The gem on the other side of the desk accepted it. "Thank you, Madame."

"No, thank you. Do you have anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"That was it, though I have a recording of the incident I could show you."

"That won't be necessary. You're free to go."

"Thank you for your time."

"There's no need to thank me. Good luck."

Peridot bowed before leaving, and Morganite pulled the half-empty bottle from her desk and took a sip, and like Jasper, she was tempted to spit it out.

"What happened? It's not nearly as good as the last time."

All the bubbles were gone. She shook the bottle, but there was no response.

"Maybe it really was alive…"

The liquid met up with the same space it had just come from and the champagne pink gem went back to work.


	6. Chapter 6

"Morganite, listen to me. If there's anything you take away from all this, it's that you shouldn't let anyone push you around if you can help it. You're going to be incredibly strong one day, so don't allow others to take advantage of you. If that means you have to take advantage of them first, so be it. No one will take care of you the way you can take care of yourself."

"I'm going to miss working with you, Jasper. You'll come see me in the future, won't you?"

From the ground, Morganite was looking up at her enormous instructor. Their serious stares met up. "Yeah, I'll come see you."

And it was back into the contemplative, dangerous silence. The kind that hung over a death sentence set to occur in the morning. But really, this situation wasn't that much different.

"I know you don't like fusing, but I'd love to form Agate again." The smaller one stood. "I can't help but think she's incredible."

"Of course she is."

Their gazes met up between them and embraced. "Does that mean you want to fuse together?"

"Well, since you're graduating tomorrow, you can consider it a gift."

The two joined hands.

"Thank you so much."

And they started to dance.

The routine had changed a lot from when they had first come together. It was spicier with more hip-shaking, hair flipping, and less rigidity. Though, they did keep the part where Jasper lifted Morganite into the air, and that was usually when Agate came into being.

That's what happened that day too.

"_Ahahahaha! All hail the Queen!_" Her seven pronged crown came around her head along with her glorious crimson cape around her shoulders. Agate brushed back her wild white hair and struck a pose, flexing.

Then she had a Dostoyevsky style existential crisis and looked into the palms of all four multi-colored hands.

"Could this truly be the last time I get to be me? I had better make it awesome then." Her cape blew in the wind and she looked up. Agate cried a single heroic tear. "Let's turn it up."

The enormous four armed woman went off to dance, and destroy, and experience for a couple hours before both Morganite and Jasper had to warp back to Homeworld. They fell apart, after tying together all their thoughts and emotions and memories and opinions and souls. And the pink one forced the orange one into an embrace that she returned with an arm draped over Morganite's shoulders.

"Will you look fancy tomorrow, Jasper?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

They were warping back, half way through that bright white stream.

"Do you think Yellow Diamond will be there?"

"Even if she isn't, she's always watching."

"That's very true."

They arrived and parted in relative silence, promising to see one another tomorrow. Morganite went her way, and Jasper went hers, and the heart-shaped gem was greeted by a fleet of concerned servants, demanding why she had been gone for so long. But really, the answer didn't matter. They took her away, polished and decorated her, and stuffed her in her room before the next morning, demanding that she remain still until it was time for the ceremony.

So Morganite looked out of her window of the crystal palace, her fingers making incredibly slow progress over the lines of a book. She would read a phrase or two, furrow her thick brows, look outside, and repeat the cycle.

Then suddenly, they were all at the enormous outdoor auditorium where the ceremony was taking place. Morganite was lined up with a few other inhabitants of the palace and their instructors. All of them had taken tests for the subjects they had studied and passed. That's why they were here. Now it was time to fight; to see their proficiency in battle.

Jasper hadn't arrived yet.

Morganite brushed her hands against her long, light orange dress and pressed her lips into an odd, asymmetrical line.

From where they were standing, all the noise and blood lust from the audience was like a broadcast echoing throughout that hollow corridor.

The panic was beginning to set in.

"Hey." Jasper walked in and stood in front of her.

"You made it!"

"Duh." Whoever was given the task of making her fancy had done an admirable, if not off job. She had been polished like everyone else had, but the first mistake was that her stylist had tried to tame her wild hair. It fell downwards, through it still retained some of its original sass. It was a little too smooth, and so was her long mahogany-colored dress.

It all felt like an attempt to hide her muscles and her inherent toughness.

But who would she be without either of those things?

"I like your outfit, but I don't think it suits you very well."

"That's what I told them, but this was the best they could do." Jasper had her arms crossed. "It's not like it matters. I'm changing as soon as we start fighting anyway. You ready?"

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. I'm not going easy on you."

"I would be disappointed if you did. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Because I've decided I'm going to beat you."

"You did what now?" Jasper leaned down and wore her enormous, intimidating smile. "That's real cute, kid. But you're not going to win. You'll be lucky if you're even conscious after I'm done with you."

"I was about to say the same to you."

The taller one laughed and nearly touched her forehead to Morganite's. "Now you've done it. I hope you enjoy being part of the ground. Maybe you can cook for another couple thousand years and try challenging me again when you're finished."

"We'll see. Good luck out there. You're going to need it."

"Ohoho. You just made my day." Jasper turned around and started tapping her foot, only to turn back immediately. "Did you really just say that to me? _You? Morganite?_"

"I did. And I'm not taking any of it back."

"_Ooh_, I'm going to have such a fun time making you _cry._"

They began to walk forward onto the stage and took their seats. Morganite and Jasper were third in line it seemed, occupying the fifth and sixth chairs in the lineup.

The key note speaker began to talk, and throughout the entire spiel the two elbowed one another and stepped on each other's feet. As she went on about achieving goals and refusing to accept defeat in the face of adversity, Jasper and Morganite whispered trash talk back and forth.

"I'm going to slay you, you little pink moron."

"Oh yeah? I'll cut you into ribbons with my _rapiers_ and use you as a hair piece."

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the pretension. Did you mean those toothpicks you call swords?"

"Your last insult presents a fallacy. If you didn't hear me there's no way you would know that I was _indeed_ talking about my swords—_the same ones I'm going to run you through with._"

Jasper crushed her foot and the members of the audience who noticed laughed.

"Oh, did that hurt?"

"_Nnrrg! Yes!_"

"_Good._"

"It looks like I better wrap this up soon. It seems our graduates and their instructors are hungry to fight."

The spot light sat on either of their shoulders.

"Oh my gosh, what have you done?" The pink one buried her face into her hands.

Now everyone was staring.

"So in conclusion, with enough perseverance, all of you gems who are just finishing your studies but beginning your adventures can go out and conquer many, many worlds. Venture out into the universe and make your Homeworld proud!"

Applause. The Homeworld anthem. The field opening up for the next ten upcoming fights. The stadium was packed, because this was like a wrestling match. The best part of any graduation of the nobility was watching the throw-down between student and instructor.

"Without any further ado we're going to begin the fighting portion of today's ceremony. The rules are as follows: Each pair has three minutes to knock one another out. If the time spans over three minutes, there is no winner and both gems are to return to their seats. In the event of a knock out, neither party is allowed to break one another's gems. You are allowed to use your summoned weapons, but nothing else. Are the rules clear for everyone about to duel?"

There were no questions.

"Excellent. Let's commence. First up is Aquamarine and her instructor—"

Seats one and two stood but so did five.

"We're going first. I can't wait any longer." Jasper dragged Morganite out from her chair.

"We can't just go first! We have to wait our turn!"

"Says who?"

"_The rules!_"

"What are you two doing?"

"We're volunteering to go first."

"Sit back down right now!"

The enormous orange one did not move, and Morganite attempted to escape. However, the grip around her wrist was too strong.

"Why?"

"_Jasper, don't do this to me!_"

"I'll allow it." A voice descended upon the masses from high up above and the whole audience gasped.

Yellow Diamond spoke from her balcony.

"I can see that Jasper truly wants to fight, so why shouldn't she and Morganite go first? This sort of spirit deserves to be celebrated, and it's precisely what this ceremony is all about. Good luck to the both of you."

The warrior goddess bowed down to her queen, and the whole audience cheered. Then she continued dragging Morganite to the field, and they took their places.

"You're unbelievable, Jasper."

"Don't you think I already know?"

The announcer: "Fighters! Take one minute to change attire and stretch!"

So they did. The instructor elected to look more like herself. The only thing that remained the same was her now smooth-ish hair, but every other aspect returned her to the Jasper Morganite knew. Then she stretched.

The champagne pink one gave herself the attire of a prince and she too, stretched.

The minute was up.

"Summon your weapons!"

Jasper's crash helmet appeared and Morganite pulled rapier _un et deux_ from her chest and pointed at her opponent with the one in her right hand. The crowd was already going wild. In response, the larger punched her heart lines and the roar from those thousands of gems went even louder until the only sound was that of blood lust.

"_Begin!_"

The former student bowed to her former instructor and they came at one another, Jasper barreling at Morganite who dodged her fists with a sort of noble grace.

Though the smaller could have counter attacked, she was having issues becoming one with this moment. This whole thing seemed unimaginable, now that it was actually occurring. There was so much build up and so much noise from the crowd that it was disorienting. Though, Morganite did a good job dodging and defending.

She crossed her two swords above her head as Jasper brought down her fists and struggled so hard with her opponent's arms that she forgot about her legs. All of a sudden, Morganite was tumbling across the field with such force it didn't register inside her reality. But that also meant it didn't hurt as much.

The audience felt the damage for her.

Morganite was quickly back on her feet and began to charge at Jasper, who was heading right for her. This time, with swords extended, she thrust and the larger one had no choice but to move back to avoid the tip of those long, sharp, toothpicks. She moved to the center of the field before turning into a bright orange ball of glowing light and rolling away from Morganite's rapiers.

Then Jasper circled the field and left her in the middle.

Those black and multi-colored crystal eyes followed that light as much as they could. Her whole body was turning around in circles in an attempt to keep up. So when Jasper came at her, she didn't dodge as well as she could have due to her swimming head.

Jasper scraped past her and knocked Morganite back once again, but she was quickly on her feet and braced her right sword with both hands, allowing the other one to temporarily disappear.

She was being circled again, and when Jasper charged at her, she timed her attack correctly and was able to land a hit.

It was hard to say what exactly she caught, but judging by the weight and pressure in the handle, it had to be _something_. The towering tangerine figure stood with her back facing her opponent, two large horizontal scratches on either of her legs.

Jasper turned around.

And they stared at one another.

Morganite pulled out her left rapier and braced herself for the coming attack. Jasper was running again and that little pink gem had every intention of ramming both swords through her attacker's chest. But as she shot her arms out forward, her target moved to the side and got her with an incredible head-butt, and Morganite was sent chest first onto the smooth tiles. Before she could roll away and launch any kind of counter attack, Jasper picked her up by the hair.

"Is this what you call winning?"

Those attractive, scuffed-up boots aimed for their enemy's broad chest.

"You've at least got a lot of spirit, kid. I'll give you that!"

Jasper sent Morganite skipping like a stone across the field, eventually landing on her feet with the tangerine warrior queen coming right at her.

_Don't let her hit you. _

She was coming closer and closer.

_You know you can do this. _

Her strong legs slammed out a rhythm on the smooth, polished floor.

_Stop freaking out! _

Jasper threw an aggressive punch that missed and the right sword was able to scratch the length of her arm. Even though it looked excruciating, she didn't stop for a moment and the two broke into a routine of blows so in synch they wouldn't even land. The pair seemed to move around each other and there was hardly any pause in the nonstop barrage.

What broke it up was Jasper punching Morganite in the face and allowing her to tear past the flesh in her previously unharmed shoulder. But where the smaller lost a few counts in their dance, the larger pulled the offending blade straight from her hand and tossed it away. Then, with those two enormous hands, she caught the other one mid-stab and pulled its owner forward, getting her again with a ruthless head-butt.

Morganite at least covered her gem with the inside of her right arm before falling to the ground with such force.

_Get up! _

Her two legs pushed her forward, but it was no good. She only managed to slide her face against the floor.

_Get up! _

Then there was the feeling of fingers intertwining into her tangled hair.

_No—! _

Jasper smiled in her face before throwing a few punches into her limp body and kicking her around like a bean bag. Morganite went flying, and so did her aggressor, that enormous gem with her wild white hair spinning her directly into the ground.

They broke the tiles and Jasper dug a tunnel with Morganite at the end of it, her shoulder blades playing the roles of effective shovels.

Then they stopped.

"Twenty more seconds!"

Foreheads touched after Jasper rescinded her helmet. But it wasn't painful.

"Fifteen!"

"Nice try."

"Fourteen!"

"You should be proud."

"Thirteen!"

"No one has ever gotten this far."

"Twelve!"

"See you on the other side."

"Eleven!"

Jasper came out of the crater she had made to total silence.

Morganite whispered to herself.

"Who said I was finished?"

_Ten! _

Somehow, she got her ruined limbs to move.

_Nine! _

"You've beaten me so many times, it'll take more than that to stop me now."

_Eight!  
_

Morganite began to crawl out.

_Seven! _

_Six!_

The light was becoming more and more apparent as she haphazardly pushed the dirt and tile shards from her beneath her tarnished boots.

_Five! _

_Four! _

And she stumbled.

_Three! _

And she fell.

_Two! _

But she made it.

_One! _

Morganite was able to balance on her two wobbling feet and even managed to straighten her back, despite the overwhelming pain. Her vision washed out beneath the unstoppable day light, but she stayed up.

The buzzer rang.

The entire audience went absolutely mad.

They started chanting her name.

"Well folks, in an unbelievable turn of events, this match had ended in a draw!"

Jasper had come over to her and those black-spotted irises looked up, into her face.

"I couldn't beat you."

The teacher did not reply. Instead, she brushed off her underling's outfit and placed her palms on either of Morganite's cheeks. Her smile contained something the smaller one hardly recognized; those crazy yellow eyes were on fire.

Jasper kissed her forehead and lifted her into the air for everyone to see.

The hype went even louder, until it was deafening.

Morganite laughed and cried and bled, basking in the applause and Jasper's pride. The same pride she had been laughing and crying and bleeding for the entire time.


	7. Chapter 7

Morganite was called to speak with Yellow Diamond, and stood before her as she sat upon her throne, surrounded by servants and a gem named Lapis Lazuli on the floor in front of her.

The Queen crossed her slender fingers.

"Peridot told me you have another power, Morganite. I have to say I'm a little disappointed I didn't hear this news from you first."

"I wanted to understand my new ability before coming to you, Ma'am. I apologize for not bringing it to your attention sooner."

"I would very much appreciate it if next time you could let me know immediately. Peridot indicated that you can read minds by touching someone's hand. Is that true?"

"Partially, Ma'am. I can touch any part of their body and know what they're thinking."

Lapis was looking up at Morganite with panic coming into her face. It blossomed out like blood dripping into a glass of water. But the champagne pink gem could not afford to break her gaze away from Yellow Diamond's for too long.

"That's wonderful news. It seems you're getting stronger. Well, I have a task for you. I suspect that Lapis Lazuli here is withholding information. She's going to recount her story and what I want you to do is see if she's telling the absolute truth."

"Of course, Ma'am."

Morganite came to the gem sitting on the floor and took her wrist and placed her light pink fingers around it. The panic was immediate and real enough to nearly shatter the determined face Morganite wore like a heavy mask.

"Don't worry. So long as you tell the truth, everything will be fine."

_It won't be fine! It's never been fine! I've been telling the truth, but I'm continuously made to retell my story again and again. They keep me here like a prisoner! _

Lapis' brows furrowed and Morganite pulled her arm a little closer and traced it gently with the knuckles of her other hand.

"I know how you're feeling, so let me help you get off the hook."

She began to calm some.

_She seems reasonable. _

"I try to be. It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Morganite."

"I'm Lapis Lazuli. It's nice to meet you."

"So, Lapis. Tell me what happened."

"I was trapped in a mirror on Earth for thousands of years until a human boy came and pulled me out. There were a few other gems there—"

All of this was accompanied by the images in Lapis' memory and all four of them looked familiar. They had similar faces and shapes and voices from the vision Morganite had received from Peridot.

"Are those the same gems that keep breaking the warp pads?"

"Yes, they are."

_Don't—Don't think about Steven. _

"I see. How did you return home?"

_Steven healed my gem and I—_

_No—! _

"I flew back after escaping." But there were so many images of the human boy. He had fixed her broken gem after climbing to the top of her ocean tower. Steven too, seemed to possess certain powers that a normal human child could never have. Lapis attempted to stop thinking about him, but it was a slide show of photos with graphic emotions. They came back stronger each time the owner of those memories tried to hide them away.

_Please don't tell them about Steven. He's harmless. If they find out about him, they're going to bring him here and do terrible things to him. I don't want him to get hurt. _

_I'm begging you, please, keep my secret if only for someone innocent. _

"Do you have anything else you need to report, Lapis?"

"No. That was all that happened."

Morganite stood up and looked Yellow Diamond in the face. "She's telling the truth, Madame. There's no reason to keep her here any longer."

There was a very heavy pause. The Queen brought her elegant hand to her lips.

"Are you absolutely sure, Morganite?" Those horrifying eyes were searching around in her soul like a hand dinging through a purse for a tube of lost lipstick.

"Yes ma'am. I am sure. There was nothing she thought about that contradicted her story. As I stated previously, she's telling the truth."

Yellow Diamond leaned back and let out a miniscule sigh. "Thank you, Morganite. You're free to go."

The champagne pink gem bowed, and during this motion she caught Lapis' face. It was full of gratitude she was unable to express due to all of the invisible knives at her back. Morganite wanted to reassure her in some way or another, but she too had a thousand little treacherous daggers pointing into the fabric of her dress.

So she left.

And Lapis was taken away again.


	8. Chapter 8

Morganite was finishing her painting when Jasper came into her room. She nearly dropped her brush out of surprise but calmed herself.

Though, there was something wrong.

"Jasper, what's going on? You never come to visit this late."

The intruder did not speak. She only stood there with whatever was on her mind; it was unable to leave her mouth. So Morganite put down her paints and moved towards the entrance of her room, both sets of fingers wrapping around Jasper's one enormous tangerine hand.

What she was feeling was so intense, the smaller gem almost had to let go. But she didn't. She fought past the initial emotion and eventually plunged into Jasper's thoughts.

_Come on. You have to do this. Stop standing around!_

There was a memory with Yellow Diamond.

"_I need you to kill Morganite."_

_The warrior looked up from her bow and the Queen gave her one of those sympathetic, yet not entirely genuine smiles. "She's going to be trouble and I need her eliminated. Can you do this for me?" _

"_I—"Jasper got caught up in her stare. It felt like a thousand years passed._

_Yellow Diamond might have been asking, but there was the mutual understanding that there was a single correct answer:_

"_Yes, ma'am." _

"_Good. Let me know when the job is done." _

Morganite let go and her arms dropped to her sides. "I don't believe it." She nearly fell over, but managed to remain standing. "How could she ask you to do this?! She could have asked anyone else—"

"How did you—"

"Do you understand now? Do you understand why I don't want to be her tool? It's because she does things like this! Jasper, _she's awful!_ She won't even dirty her own hands and kill me herself! She has to make you suffer too!" Morganite turned around and began to cry from the fury and sorrow. "I can't believe this."

Even through the tears, at that moment, there was only silence. Nothing moved. And inside the vacuum there was only the two of them, facing the same direction, feeling the same emotions.

"I'm going to finish my painting; I'm almost done. And then you can do what you have to do."

Morganite's feet tapped out a beat on the ground and she went back to her canvas, picking up where she left off. Throughout the course of several minutes, the only sounds were that of the brush filling space on the painting and quiet crying coming from either party.

Jasper sat down on her sofa in the center of the room, and when Morganite finished, she came over and took her former instructor into an embrace. Just like the first time, she sunk into Jasper's body and ended up with handfuls of that wild white mane.

But unlike the first time, Morganite placed their lips together.

They stayed that way a couple of seconds and then pulled apart.

"I want you to keep my painting. Take it with you before they come and destroy everything in here, okay?"

"_How can you be so calm about this?_" Morganite had her hands around the frame of Jasper's face. Her fingers came and caught the slow forming tears that came one at a time from her golden eyes.

They were so bright in the dark.

"It's better that it ends this way. It would get to the point that my powers would be too much for me, and honestly, when that day came, I was planning on destroying myself. I just wish she hadn't asked _you_ to do it, of all gems. And I really wish that we could have been Agate one more time. I love being part of her. I guess what hurts the most is knowing I'll never get to see you, or anyone else for that matter, ever again. I'll miss you terribly."

"_Will you just stop?!_" Jasper pushed Morganite off of her, onto the floor. "_It's like you're trying to make me cry!_"

"Jasper—"

"_Draw your swords!_"

"Why? What's the point?"

"_What's the point?!_ I'm not going to take your life while you just stand there and do nothing! _So draw!_"

The pink one stood back up. "You can't order me around, Jasper. Not anymore. Even if you _are_ here to kill me."

Staring contest.

"Then won't you just do it for me?"

The battle continued.

"Morganite, _please._"

The smaller of the pair sighed. "Fine. If it'll make you feel better, I'll do it."

"Thank you."

And Morganite drew her rapiers and took a few steps back. "I'm ready."

Jasper summoned her weapon too, and they started to fight.

But Morganite wouldn't allow her opponent to land any hits, nor would she hit Jasper back. Each time the larger one moved, those pink fingers would brush past some part of her and know what was coming next. Even though either one of those pointed swords could have pierced her on numerous occasions, they never bothered with thrusting or slashing.

They ended up dancing an aggressive routine.

Then Jasper stopped. And Morganite stopped.

"Quit dodging!"

Half of the room had been destroyed in the cross fire.

"Why should I? In an actual battle, I wouldn't just let you hit me."

"This isn't an actual battle! You haven't struck me once! I _know_ you can fight harder than this!"

"I don't want to hurt you!"

"_I don't want to hurt you either but we have to do this!_"

Jasper came at Morganite again, and after a few exchanges, the smaller gem allowed herself to be choked. The Warrior Queen held her in the air and removed the destabilizer from her hip, the bright electric light illuminating their faces and where they stood in that trashed chamber.

She could hardly speak. With her fingers gently resting on her attacker's forearm, she whispered. "Do it…"

Jasper was staring into her soul, and Morganite was reading hers like a scroll.

"Do it!"

But then the smaller gem landed on the ground.

"_You're not even taking this seriously!_"

It was too late though. Morganite stole the destabilizer from the opposite's hip and plunged it deep into her own stomach. Her body fell apart and broke in multiple directions until her heart-shaped gem clinked several times upon the floor.

Jasper broke that glowing weapon in frustration.

"_You little pink moron!_"

Then she smeared the upset around her face with the back of her hand.

Minutes passed. Jasper allowed her foot to hover over Morganite's defenseless gem, but could not bring it down with any force. It remained in the same place, with the warrior breaking into a cold sweat and pulling in her lips.

She could really only manage to stand there.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Jasper scooped up the light pink stone as well as a few of the books that had come from Earth and ran out of the ex-aristocrat's room. Morganite was clasped tightly within her heart lines, so she wouldn't be dropped or found out.

"I'll go back for your painting."

She was making great time down the halls.

"I swear, I won't forget."


	9. Chapter 9

Let me tell you about my hopes and dreams:

Maybe one day, after this mess is over, we can be together again. I can see us, sitting in the grass somewhere, maybe on a far-off planet, glancing at the sky. It's beautiful. The whole world is turning pink and orange, and yellow, and all the flowers are in bloom. Wherever we are, it's happy there. And for once, in this one little moment that only makes up a fraction of our lives, we're completely unperturbed—unbound by what anyone has to say, or by any of their stupid rules.

In that place, we'll be The Queen.

I'll end and you'll begin. Or maybe you'll end and I'll begin. It doesn't really matter.

And that will be it. And we can smile together, without a single worry to share between us. Maybe we'll never even have to worry again.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?


	10. Chapter 10

Morganite woke up. And she wept when she saw a small pile of her books, stacked in the corner of wherever she was. Her two clenched fists tried to bang craters into the walls, but the best she could do were small dents.

"Why am I still alive?! She's going to be in so much trouble for this!"

The door slid open.

"Morganite? Is everything okay?" The intruder looked around as though something had fallen over.

The champagne pink gem turned to look at her. "Who are you?" The tears still clouded up her vision.

"I'm Emerald. We're actually from the same family, but…I guess we never had a lot of reunions." She smiled for nothing. The pink gem's expression did not change. "You're safe in the bunk of my ship. We've been travelling for several days. It's just you and me here." Emerald took a few steps closer.

"_Don't come near me!_"

She paused, but didn't retreat and stood still in a balanced stance. Emerald glanced at the floor for a moment. "Can I sit next to you?"

Morganite pressed her lips together and attempted to regain her composure. "Sure. Fine."

Quietly, Emerald went and sat cross-legged just out of arm's reach. She didn't say any anything, just letting the background hum of the ship fill the room.

Morganite wiped the tears from her cheeks a final time. "I'm sorry I'm not all that friendly right now. To be honest, I'm not even supposed to be alive. Yellow Diamond sent someone very dear to me to take my life, but it looks as though she wasn't able to go through with it." She took in a heavy breath. "Can you tell me where we're going and how I got here?"

"You're on my ship per…Jasper's request. I'm a surveyor, and right now we're in hyperspace, so if there is anywhere you need to be, I can take you there."

"She gave me to you?"

"Well, it wasn't really voluntary on my part. You know how Jasper is…" The dark green gem watched Morganite carefully, but gently, as if she were looking at an earth rose in a frost.

But the ex-aristocrat started crying again and her counterpart moved closer, and with grave familiarity, laid a hand on her pink shoulder. And with an incredible greed, the heart-shaped gem stole Emerald into an embrace and held their bodies together. To Morganite, she was a healing balm to every part of her crusting-over emotional burns.

"I can't believe how genuine you are." Weeping. "Let me hold you for a minute."

Emerald drew her a little closer in response, linking her arms around the opposite gem and forming a warm, protective shield that she wished could stay with Morganite forever. "Of course."

Her pink chin pressed into the surveyor's shoulder pad. "I still can't believe all this. It's like a terrible dream. I wish I could go back and help Jasper—because she's going to be in so much trouble for letting me live—but if I set one foot on Homeworld again her sacrifice will be a total waste. They'd kill me in an instant."

They separated.

"I know Jasper didn't give you much of a choice, but thank you for taking me onto your ship."

"You are very welcome." After glancing around the room, Emerald looked back to Morganite. "I might be totally off base here, but it seemed like Jasper had the right plan for you in mind. She knew exactly who to take you to." Emerald's eyes glittered with an idea. "Maybe I can do more than just help you leave Homeworld. Have you ever heard of Earth?"

"Yes! The books I have with me are from there!"

"Perfect. That planet's warp pads were mysteriously broken the last time I heard. They weren't scheduled for repair because we need to investigate why the original ones were broken before we install new ones."

"I know what happened." Her conversation with Peridot came again into her mind, and how Jasper might be accompanying her as an escort, assuming she was still alive. "I think I'll be safe there."

"Then it's settled." Emerald tapped her guest's knee, once. "I'll punch in our destination for Earth."

"Thank you so much, Emerald. I don't have much with me, but as a token of my gratitude, would you like one of my books?"

"Are you sure? Jasper made it seem like they were really important to you."

"They are, but I want to at least give you something."

Emerald brushed some non-existent lint off her pencil skirt. "Well, if you really want to, that would be pretty neat."

Morganite managed a grin and picked up her collection, allowing the captain and soon to be sole resident of that ship to go through them.

"This is the best collection I've ever seen!" The dark green gem exclaimed over the handful of books. "Well, also the only one. Hey, this creature kind of looks like me." She held out a book with some kind of puffy, green animal with stick legs and a pointy nose on the cover. "Is this a good book?"

Morganite smiled. "I think it's good. It's really informative, so you should have it."

"Thanks very much." Emerald placed the book on her lap and laid both hands flat against it. "Um…Does it work? Nothing's happening."

"You have to open it and turn the pages." Morganite showed her with one of the volumes in her hands. "You read it top to bottom and left to right, usually."

"Oh! Silly me." She followed Morganite's instructions. "This is fun. Thank you." She looked back up again. "Do you think you'll like Earth?"

"I used to have a whole collection of things from Earth and other planets. At least some of it will be familiar."

Emerald nodded. "That's what I was hoping." Then she stood and tucked the book under one arm. "Let's go."

Morganite followed her to the control room, and either of those deep green hands dipped into the panel. After a few moments, the ship's hum scaled higher, then higher still. The familiar blue-white planet plunged into view, filling the window and lighting the two gems pale blue.

Emerald stayed where she was. "It looks like there is a lot…Hundreds of different land types down there." Her brows furrowed over the lines of data in her eyes. "Is there a place you like?"

"There's a smallish island in the continent called Asia, I think. Geographically, it's on numerous fault lines. I've always wanted to visit there."

"Asia…" The ship raced forward over a vast ocean, half in shadow. "Do you mean this island? With all the seismic activity?"

"Yes, that's the one."

Emerald pulled her hands away and looked at Morganite fully. "I'll take you down now, if you're ready."

"I am ready; thank you so much." The pink gem reached over and squeezed her hand for only a moment, sharing some of her emotions. "One day, I'm sure I can repay you with more than just an Earth book."

Emerald chuckled. "I'm sure you'll have a remarkable collection by then. But I think meeting again will be a reward itself."

Morganite, despite her heartache, grinned, and Emerald returned her smile while placing her hands in the ship console once more. The ship began to shake slightly as they entered the atmosphere. Slowly, the island filled the window, followed by a ribbon of pale brown sand. Their view clouded over as the humid salt spray of the ocean clung to the glass, and Morganite's own grand adventures on Earth began.


	11. Chapter 11

"Jasper, what happened to Morganite? It seems she's up and disappeared. _Like magic!_ Explain."

"I tried to apprehend her, Ma'am, but she escaped."

"She escaped! _How intriguing!_"

Jasper just kept her eyes closed, facing the floor in a low, apologetic bow.

"I could kill you for lying. I'm sure you're aware of that." Yellow Diamond sat back a little further in her chair. "But I'm not going to kill you. Not just yet, anyway. You're too useful for me to impulsively turn to dust, and I'm certain you know where she is. So talk."

"I don't know where Morganite went, Ma'am. She's more than likely on another planet."

"'More than likely.' I don't believe this. I should have known to ask someone else to do this job. But you've been such a loyal and dutiful soldier up to this point. I'm hurt, Jasper. More than hurt, I'm shocked. And now you won't even tell me what you did with her. Perhaps the more important question is: what should I do with you?"

Silence.

"I guess I should have expected this. That little reject didn't have any friends other than you, and it doesn't seem like you're _swimming_ in pals either." She sighed. "Even so, I thought you would follow my orders. Oh, but that look on your face…It's a sad, _sad_ day when Jasper, Conqueror of Worlds, disobeys _me_ of all gems. I underestimated how much you loved her. How foolish of me."

"Loved her, Ma'am?" Jasper was blushing furiously.

"Yes. And don't you suggest for a moment that my accusation is off-base. You would _never _do something _this_ stupid unless you felt incredibly strongly about something, or I suppose, _someone_." Her thumb, middle and index finger found places against her temples. "I'm sick of looking at you."

She rose and one of her servants handed her a destabilizer. "I know you've used one of these, but do you know how it feels?"

"No, ma'am."

There were a few steps, and Jasper could hear the frantic energy coming from the two prongs pointed directly at her forehead.

"You'll get to find out in about ten second unless you're feeling a little more talkative."

Yellow static that almost touched her. The Queen shifted her weight.

"Not to worry. It won't hurt nearly as badly compared to what you'll be experiencing throughout the next several days. Just remember, you can alleviate the excruciating pain by telling us what you know, but that's up to you now. Good luck."

Yellow Diamond thrust her weapon forward, directly into Jasper's face. Her enormous body, that seemed so resistant to everything, disappeared, and that fiery tangerine stone clinked upon the polished floor.

Then she held that very gem in her cruel hands and tossed it haphazardly to her servant. "Torture her until she speaks."

"Yes, My Lady. Right away."

But Jasper wouldn't speak. It went on for six entire days until Yellow Diamond decided to forgive her. Though, this pardoning came with a bright red warning that if she ever did anything like this again, she wouldn't think twice about smashing her to pieces.

"You're lucky you've been so loyal and that I'm in a good mood." She had said.

In the meantime, they had cleaned out all of Morganite's things. Peridot delighted in completely upgrading her office and throwing out all of her bottles and books and plastic bags and other assorted interplanetary junk. Now that space was made up of clean, straight, perfect lines and the newest and best technology.

Her room was entirely empty and devoid of anything that had ever been associated with her.

Morganite might as well have been dead.

But just as Jasper had promised, her painting was set up in her home, hanging upon the wall. It waited for her everyday to break her heart with all of its almost straight lines and vibrant colors. Hiding amongst all the triangles and squares was a heart-shaped pink gem in the bottom right hand corner and a familiar fiery orange stone in the upper right.

Agate.

The Queen of Disaster was crying, lost somewhere in the light years between them.

Jasper went away with Peridot to Earth just as Morganite was being dropped off on the beach, somewhere in Japan.

The ex-aristocrat thanked Emerald for the ride and did what she always did: collected souvenirs and wrote everything down. She studied even more Earth creatures and studied more Earth languages and ate all sorts of different Earth candies.

And she waited for Jasper.

Sometimes, when the novelty wore off, Morganite would sit on the balcony of her tiny apartment and look into the heavens. She attempted to read the stars and erase her memories, begging those bodies of light for an answer. But Morganite couldn't accomplish any of these tasks.

One night, she came close to praying that Jasper would somehow figure out where she was; praying that she was even still living. Yet, little did she know that her warrior goddess would soon be imprisoned at the bottom of the ocean Morganite would occasionally dip her feet into.

Their cruel fates and sick destinies were even further intertwined.

Surely, it would only take one more shift in the paradigm and one more swing in the pendulum before they were reunited and could embrace again. Queen Agate was very much alive; she was simply fragmented between different continents that shared a singular world and a singular ocean.

_Quelle ironie_, she would say as she destroyed an entire forest and smile enthusiastically with her crazy mouth.

What irony.

_Mais c'est la vie. _

But that's life.


	12. Author's Comments

Dear Reader(s),

I'd first like to thank you for reading this story, as well as my friends Erin, Dana, and TurkeySM for Beta reading it before I posted it for the public to see. Chapter 10 was co-written by the aforementioned Erin, which seems appropriate considering how Steven Universe focuses on fusion, and in that way, we fused together to create that chapter. Emerald, of course, is hers.

It's actually been quite a long time since I've been this pumped to write anything. After watching the season finale, I absolutely fell in love with this show (though I liked it plenty before), and Jasper as well. She is absolutely my favorite character and in writing this I wanted to redeem her in what ways I could. I wish we got more of her, because I think she's incredible. Though, maybe if we did, this story wouldn't exist at all. After all, its purpose was for me to experience a side of Jasper that I desperately wanted to see. And I know that something will probably happen in Steven Universe to make probably 90% of this fanfiction incorrect, (Especially with Steven Bomb 2.0 starting tomorrow!) so I hope future readers (you know, all two of you) will forgive me for going against whatever the future cannon may be.

Thank you again for taking your time to read and review if you decided to do so. I can't thank you guys enough and another thank you for the people who initially read this train wreck and removed the typos and made it a better story.

With love,

-Pappillon


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